


In the Moonlight (We Have Time)

by orphan_account



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angry Daryl, Angry Kissing, Attempted Murder-Suicide, Betrayal, Biting, Bottom Daryl, Child Murder, Come Swallowing, Crazy Rick, Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes Feels, Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes Smut, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Going to Hell, Intense, M/M, Masturbation, Not Canon Compliant, Oh My God, Oral Sex, Out of Character, Protectiveness, Scared Rick, Sex in a Car, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes, Smut, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporarily Unrequited Love, The Author Regrets Nothing, Top Rick, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 06:33:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4866701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how hard they tried, their lives would always be coming apart at the hinges.</p><p>Very out of character.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Moonlight (We Have Time)

**Author's Note:**

> As always, anything in italic is for thoughts. It switches between Points of View, and it will say the person's name in bold so you know who's view it is.

**Daryl**

"Why didn't you save yourself, Lori? Why did you die? Is it because you hate me?" Rick says, rocking back and forth with his knees tugged to his chest.

Daryl peers in through Rick's privacy curtain, watching the deranged leader slowly go crazy. Truthfully, it frightens him, seeing Rick like this. His eyes are wild, his curls are sticking out in every which way. He's severely pale, his body covered in a sheen of sweat that seems permanent. Rick is 'talking' to Lori as he rocks back and forth, asking questions that no one can answer. Daryl knows he shouldn't be watching Rick like this, but he's worried for the crazed man.

It's dark in the man's cell, only a dim lantern emitting light into the tiny space. Rick's bed is a mess, blankets strewn across the mattress, his pillow on the floor. His clothes are thrown all around the small cell, either coated in dirt or ripped to shreds. It's particularly quiet, the only noises are the soft snores throughout the cell-block and Rick's insane murmuring. It's only around midnight, but the group crashed early due to a intense day of fence clearing.

The hunter's eyes are glued to Rick, and they move slightly as they watch the leader. Rick seems terrified, almost, but more delusional and insane than anything. Daryl doesn't know what to do, so he just continues to stare at him. Rick murmurs something or another about Lori again, his voice broken with a pinch of insanity. Daryl doesn't notice the tears in his eyes until he blinks them back. He realizes that when Rick broke, Daryl broke alongside him.

Daryl wonders why seeing Rick like this hurts him so much. It can't be something brotherly, it feels too wrong. This feeling is rather strong, and seeing Rick like this makes his heart pound painfully in his chest. He wonders why seeing Rick like this makes his eyes tear up, why it makes him feel so broken right beside the emotionally wounded sheriff's deputy. Then, it hits Daryl like a brick to the face.

He's in love with Rick. No, that's impossible! There isn't a way that this could be true, not even if hell froze over. It would ruin their brotherhood if Daryl told him. It would ruin everything they've built, that's for sure. Rick would refuse him, Daryl's positive of that. Even if the man is mentally unstable, he's not so unstable that he will say yes to Daryl. Absolutely fucking impossible.

Daryl yanks the curtain back, his eyes wide. He doesn't know why he's shaking so hard, or why trails of tears cover his cheeks like waterfalls. The hunter backs away slowly before turning and hightailing out of the cell-block. It's raining outside, and the water drenches him before he even takes five steps. The black clouds are invisible, blending with the night sky. The smell of decay hits the hunter's nose.

Everything is soaked, water droplets falling from the leaves of crops and puddles forming in the prison yard. Daryl lets the downpour soak his hair and his clothes. He bows his head, happy that the rain is hiding his tears. This is so fucked up, he's not supposed to be in love with Rick. This is so wrong.

"Daryl?" Rick's voice rasps from behind him. Daryl turns around, and Rick's soaked, too. His eyes aren't as wild, but they're pained. Daryl would be lying if he said Rick doesn't look sexy as the rain drenches his being, causing his curls to stick to his forehead.

"Rick," Daryl speaks, "What are ya doin' out here?"

"I was hot," Rick shrugs, not really focusing on anything. "I knew it was raining, I just didn't expect you to be out here."

"Rick, are ya alright?" Daryl asks, the words escaping his mouth before he can even think.

"No, not really," Rick admits, looking away. At least he is still sane enough to actually have a conversation. Rick looks back to Daryl, his eyes frightened. "She won't leave me alone."

Daryl's smart enough to know who 'she' is. "Rick, she isn't there," Daryl assures the frightened man.

"Yes she is," Rick whimpers, "She came to me. She told me I have to do something." Rick's tone is crazed again, his eyes widening back to their wild looks. Maybe he's not as sane as Daryl thought.

"What did she tell ya ta do?" Daryl questions, an unusual anger bubbling in his chest.

"I-" Rick's face goes blank, and he stares into space. Daryl wonders what he's seeing. "I have to go." With that, Rick turns and rushes back into the cell-block, leaving Daryl standing in the middle of the downpour.

Daryl sighs, disappointment visible on his face. Deep down, Daryl knows it's not his fault that Rick rushed off like that. He knows it was just the man's insanity that's driving him off the limits, but Daryl can't help but feel guilty. The man shakes his head in disgust, and whether it's with himself or with Rick he doesn't know. Daryl shivers, and decides to go inside the watch tower before he catches something he can't afford to deal with right now.

Maybe Rick 'saw' her again and she 'made' him go back inside. Maybe it wasn't Daryl's fault that Rick scurried back into the cell-block like a frightened rat. Okay, bad comparison. Rick is far from a rat, and that was a shitty comparison. Rick is his more-than-a-brother, for Christ's sake! Calling him a rat was a mistake. Well, he didn't exactly call him a rat, but.

Daryl groans as he lays down in the tower. He tugs a blanket he keeps in the tower over his shivering body. The hunter wonders what the fuck he's supposed to do about this. He can't walk up to Rick and confess everything. What a shitty time to realize his feelings! Rick's wandering crazy town and Maggie and Glenn are always fighting now. They even sleep in separate cells.

Daryl can feel the tension in the air. He's pretty sure that at this rate, Rick won't be the only one going insane. Daryl doesn't know what sparked Glenn and Maggie's arguing, all he knows is that he woke up one morning and they were yelling their lungs out. He knows for sure that if they go on like this, they're going to fall apart. They'll hate each other's guts, and in this world, they can't afford that.

There's a lot of pressure within the group, and if Rick goes completely off the walls then that pressure will be multiplied. The group will be forced to work around Rick's unstable mental state, and to Daryl, Rick is the reason they're still here. No matter what he says. Daryl knows the guilt Rick carries, and though he may not show it, he knows. Daryl sees it in the man's eyes.

The guilt Rick carries has been added onto recently, especially after Lori's death. Daryl believes he knows why the guilt is present. The way Lori and Rick were before her death, the way he ignored her, the way he just wasn't there. Then she died, and Rick spun off the walls, probably with guilt and just pure grief. Daryl can't help but wonder what Rick's doing right now. Is he rocking back and forth again, murmuring like a madman? Or is he sleeping, having a nightmare? A small part of Daryl suggests that maybe, just maybe, Rick is thinking about him. Probably not.

"Fuck," Daryl groans, sliding his hand across his nose. If Rick was thinking about the hunter, it'd be a miracle from the gods. Miracles don't exist. Well, that's not entirely true. Rick's a miracle, from Daryl's point of view. An insane, delusional miracle, to be exact. Soon, Daryl slips into a restless sleep with dreams about miracles and delusional gods.

**Rick**

Rick shivers, sliding his back down the cell wall. He's not thinking straight, and he can't remember anything except Lori. She's everywhere, all over the place. He can't shake her from his thoughts, and he knows why. He wasn't there. Oh, he never was there. Rick trembles violently, his eyes wild and his body covered in sweat.

A voice comes from across the cell. Rick tilts his head. "Lori?" he asks, his voice confused. She's sitting on his bed across the room, in that same fucking white dress.

"Have you done what I've asked you to do?" Lori questions, her eyes trained on her husband.

"No," Rick answers. "I can't."

"Rick," Lori says sternly, her face angry. "You have to. Give my baby to me."

"No," Rick repeats. "I won't. She's alive and healthy. You can't just-" Tears well up in Rick's eyes. "You can't take her from me!"

"Give my baby to me, Rick," Lori chants, almost like a demand. "Give her to me!"

Rick stands, his eyes raging with fire. "No!" he screams, his eyes angry. "I won't do that! You can't take her, I won't let you! Go away!"

"The baby is mine, let her be with me!" Lori insists, her face pained and hateful. "You weren't there, I deserve this baby!"

"Lori," Rick chokes out, sinking back to his knees. "I tried- I couldn't- I'm sorry!"

Rick flinches when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He flinches so hard that he practically jumps across the room. He spins around, his eyes wide and crazed, his hair rustled in every direction. When he spots Lori, his eyes go wider, as if that was possible. _She just- she teleported across the cell!_

"Go away," Rick tries to growl, but it sounds scared.

"Not until you give me my baby, Rick," Lori says.

Rick stands on wobbly, shaky legs. He just yelps and bolts, shoving past Lori and running through the cell block. His breathing is spiky and jagged, and he can't think of anything but run. _Run, oh run! Run, run, run, run, run!_ His boots make a loud sound against the cement floor, and Rick and hear people groaning as they awaken to his crazed episode.

The cop can't stop running, he can't slow down. He takes a sharp turn and almost slams into the wall, barely stopping himself. He runs farther and farther, his breathing speeding and his heart pounding. Down different hallways, through strange doors. Running, running, running. Oh, forever to run until his legs give out. Rick trips, a shriek escaping his lips upon doing so.

"Run, run, run, run!" Rick chants insanely. "Run, run, run, run! Oh, run, run, run!"

But he's not running, instead he's laying on the cold cement floor, waiting. What he's waiting for, he doesn't know, but he knows it's something. Rick doesn't know he's asleep until he feels cold hands pinning his wrists. He jolts awake, a shrill scream erupting from his core. His own scream scares him, and he can't run. He's stuck.

"Let me go!" Rick shrieks, his eyes darting wildly. Sweat trickles down his neck in beads.

"Rick, focus! Focus, Rick!" Hershel's calm voice comes from beside the man. Rick's in a cell, on a bed, and his chest is heaving with every gasping breath he takes.

"No, no! Stop! Get off, get off!" Rick screams again, thrashing against Hershel's grip. Someone's pinning his legs, and he kicks, immediately hearing a 'fuck' from by his feet.

"Rick... fuck, ow!" Daryl swears, shaking his wrist. "Ya smashed my thumb!"

"Tie him up," Hershel orders, grabbing some rope. "He isn't stable."

"No shit," Daryl mumbles under his breath, taking some of the rope and tying Rick's ankles to the poles of the cell bunk. Hershel ties his wrists, glancing sadly at the still-thrashing Rick. Hershel leaves Daryl with Rick.

"No, no, no... not yet... no, no, no... please don't... stop..." Rick murmurs crazily, shaking his head wildly.

"Rick," Daryl places a hand on Rick's chest. "'S me, Daryl."

Rick calms, his crazed eyes calming. "Daryl," Rick heaves. "She- she won't stop, she won't-"

"Shh, 's alright, Rick," Daryl soothes the terrified cop.

"If it's okay, why am I tied up?" Rick asks. Then realization looms on his face. "I'm a madman!" he realizes, but it sounds more like a question. "I'm... dangerous?!"

"Nah, ya weren't dangerous. Ya was jus' thrashin' somethin' fierce. Ya did smash my thumb, though," Daryl whispers.

"What happened? Why am I here? I was running. Running from... from her," Rick wonders.

"Figured ya were runnin' from somethin', ya were jus' murmurin' under your breath when we found ya. Ya were almost in the tombs, and ya were jus' lyin' there on the floor, shiverin' and tremblin' like mad," Daryl explains. "Ya kept screamin' in yer sleep, somethin' 'bout runnin' and somethin' 'bout Lori."

"I still have to run," Rick insists, thrashing against the ropes again.

"Why?" Daryl tilts his head.

"Let me go, let me go," Rick pleads. _I have to give Lori the baby. I have to! I have to!_

"Not until ya tell me why," Daryl demands.

"Lori!" Rick yelps. "She won't leave me alone unless I give her the baby! She won't- she won't- she- she-" Rick's sobbing now, a pained expression plastered across his face.

Daryl's eyes narrow. "What do ya mean... give her the baby?"

"I have to kill her, she wants her to die, I can't- I- I tried- I just can't! I can't take this, Daryl. She- she won't go away. She's mad at me," Rick babbles, his voice barely coherent. He's terrified, trapped in his own little world.

"Ya ain't givin' Lori Lil' Asskicker," Daryl growls.

"I HAVE TO! I HAVE TO! I HAVE TO, I HAVE TO, I HAVE TO!" Rick screams. "She wants the baby. Says I- she's saying that I don't- I don't deserve her because I wasn't- wasn't there," Rick manages. He can barely choke the words out over the lump in his throat.

"No," Daryl insists.

"I- I have to- I just-" Rick suddenly cuts off, his thrashing body visibly falling limp. Daryl's about to freak, until he sees the dark purple bags under his eyes.

"Damn, ya haven't slept..." Daryl concludes. Rick murmurs in his semi-conscious state.

When Rick awakes, it's finally light in the cell. Daryl's dozing in the corner of the cell. Rick knows now. He's seen it.

Either they all die, or the baby dies.

He chooses baby.


End file.
